Intel details 50-core Knights Corner chip
updated 06:20 pm EDT, Mon June 20, 2011
Components to be built using 22nm process
Intel has disclosed additional details surrounding its upcoming Knights Corner processor, a 50-core chip first previewed early last year. The CPU will be the first to be produced using the company's Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture, which takes advantage of x86-based Xeon cores and 22nm construction. The technology is claimed to offer a significant jump in performance scalability compared to current offerings.
Developers are already said to be utilizing the Knights Corner software development platform, known as Knights Ferry. The company is highlighting the relative ease of transitioning to MIC architecture, due to the persistence of familiar x86 programming.
Intel suggests technology such as Knights Corner will be necessary to push high-performance computing to ExaFLOP/s performance levels, over a quintillion computer operations per second, by the end of the decade.
Companies planning to launch Knights Corner-based workstations and servers include SGI, Dell, HP, IBM, Colfax and Supermicro. Intel has yet to disclose a specific launch date or pricing details for the upcoming chips.
